Breath of Life
by melissawtf
Summary: Richie and Kate rush to stop Carlos from emptying the blood well when things take a turn for the worse. However, something unexpected happens that leaves everyone a little more than stunned.


**Author's Note:** Here's a little AU of 2x09 "There Will Be Blood" because I'm not too happy with that ending.

* * *

 _"I'll stop sniffing around Santanico's heels and keep this one instead if you take Carlitos out of the picture the second he drains the blood well." Kate flinches away from Malvado's fingers twirling strands of her hair, her gaze darting to Richie's intense blue gaze._

 _"I'll stop Carlitos, but I keep her," the younger Gecko gestures to Kate. "You can keep Santanico. We're not exactly.. seeing eye to eye as I thought we would."_

 _Malvado smirks in triumph and nudges Kate forward, the elder Fuller stumbling and squeaking when Richie grabs her around the bicep to drag her from the room._

 **xXx**

Inside the car and on their way to the blood well where Richie saw it's location in Kate's memories, Kate gulps and shifts closer to the door as if afraid. Richie has been awfully quiet and the muscles in his jaw tick every few seconds.

"What- what are you gonna do with me?" He grimaces at Kate's tone but remains quiet and then a few seconds later, he's jerking the car off to the side of the road and braking to a sudden stop. He reaches across Kate and throws open her door. "What are- what are you doing?!"

"This is where you get out. Go." Kate looks at the opened door and into the stillness of the night, and Richie gestures for her to get out. "Just bible thump your way to the next town or something."

There's a pregnant pause and then Kate's reaching for the door's handle to close the door. Suddenly angry, she whirls back around to face Richie. "I have come _too far_ and I have been through way _too much_ to let another Gecko boy push me to the curb." Richie stares at her, lips pursed but doesn't speak against her. "I am going to that blood well so you're going to put this car into drive and you're going to step on that pedal or I'm gonna bible thump _your ass_ all the way back to Kansas. _Now!_ "

Richie startles at her scream and quickly leans back into his seat, doing as told. If he hadn't been so focused on the road, he'd have noticed Kate's stunned expression at him actually listening to her.

A few minutes of silence pass and then Richie glances at Kate once more, lips twitching in faint amusement. "I thought you were gonna vomit pea soup all over me."

Her head jerks in Richie's direction, eyes narrowed. Then glancing back out the windshield, Kate sighs and the fight drains out of her. "This blood well is so important. It is going to change _everything._ "

"Change isn't free, Kate," Richie chances a look at her. "There's always a price to pay to get what you want."

"Don't I know it," she then sighs sadly.

Richie trails off on what he was saying, his questioning gaze lingering on Kate but the younger girl merely turns to look out the passenger door window.

 **xXx**

Several more minutes into the drive, Richie finally turns down a dusty road and kills the headlights. Overlooking a hill, Kate and Richie climb out the car and she pulls out binoculars with her 'cause at the bottom of the hill is the blood well that has everyone in such a tizzy.

"There's Scott," Kate says as she peers through the binoculars. "-but what do we do about Carlos and the others?"

"I got some gear in the back in case shit hits the fan," Richie replies as he gestures to the trunk of the car and then turns to look at Kate square in the eye. "But it won't 'cause we ain't gonna throw it."

"When do we attack?"

"When the time is right."

"And when will that be?" Richie looks unimpressed with Kate's questioning but a sudden tremor shaking the ground beneath their feet startles the both of them. "What was that?"

Richie shrugs and frowns, and as one, both Richie and Kate stare back down at the blood well and the culebras crowding beneath it.

 **xXx**

"We shouldn't wait any longer," Kate finally admits after Richie made her wait with him.

Shaking his head, Richie bites back a tired sigh. "There's no sense in running in there guns blazing until it's all pumped. Let them think they got it; they'll let their guard down."

"Scott isn't safe down there." She turns to Richie but he merely meets her gaze without a care in the world. "You were gonna sacrifice him," Kate then realizes. "You- you were just gonna let him die in the crossfire?!"

"This has nothing to do with Scott," he fires back. "I was trying to protect you!"

"N-no. You don't care about me, you don't care about anyone. You just care about yourself."

Richie goes quiet, jaw ticking. "The world is a snake pit, Kate. People bite you if you don't bite first."

"You sound just like him," she frowns as Malvado comes to mind. "He is a monster."

"No, Kate, _he's_ almost gone. As soon as that well's dry, he's outta here and everybody gets what they want. _Everybody_."

Staring up at him defiantly, Kate glowers. "You don't-"

"I don't what?" Richie huffs. "I did what I had to do just like you did when you buried that girl in the back yard. Or when you killed that drifter," he throws her misdeeds back in her face. Kate's heard enough then and tries to flee but Richie catches her by the arm and hauls her back. "This is bigger than your brother, Kate. This is going to happen. It _has_ to happen and there's nothing any God can do about it." With each statement he grips her tighter and Kate flinches.

"Let me go," she cries. And realizing he's hurting her, Richie lets go.

He glances down at her arm and frowns, looking almost apologetic but then Kate's tears instantly clear up and she makes an escape. Richie lunges after her but she manages to stay out of reach and rushes down the hill.

"Kate!"

 **xXx**

Scott's the first to realize someone's running towards them, he reaching for a machete that's strapped to his back when he realizes it's his sister.

Intercepting her first, he nearly growls, "You shouldn't have come here, Kate."

"I'm trying to save your life, Scott."

But by now, the other culebras have noticed the intruder and are making their way towards them- Carlos leading.

"Look," Scott sighs and drags his sister the rest of the way to Carlos. "-tell him what you told me."

Carlos looks between the siblings and Kate tells him what she knows. "You are being tricked. If you don't stop that pump right now, Malvado and Richie are going to get exactly what they want."

"Richard?" Carlos seethes.

A gunshot rings out and Kate squeaks, she watching as a female culebra wearing a knitted hat goes down and burns from the inside out. Two more shots ring out as everyone ducks for cover and it's then they notice Richie making his way down the hill.

As Scott covers Kate after scrambling for cover, she watches in triumph as Sex Machine takes a bullet to the back and dies right before another female culebra takes a bullet to the back as well. Carlos' team finally decides to return fire just as Richie makes it beneath the lit up well.

"Give me the keys to the truck, Carlito." He's pointing a rifle directly at the oldest culebra standing around, and Carlos is heaving in anger. A bald, bearded man fires a shot at Richie just to distract him and as he returns fire, a masked being slips up behind Richie and points a gun to the back of his head.

Defeated, Richie lowers his weapon. "Who the fuck are you?" A feminine voice questions angrily. Then ripping off the mask, Kate's treated to the sight of one angry woman with hair cropped to her chin, and she pushes her gun into the back of Richie's head. "Nobody messes with my man."

Kate scoffs which earns Carlos' angry gaze, he then ripping her away from her brother's clutches. "Don't hurt her!" Scott shouts.

But Carlos ignores him and holds Kate against his chest with a gun to her head as he faces down Richie. "What did Malvado offer you?"

"He didn't offer me anything," Richie sneers as his rifle is taken from him by the bald guy- the bald guy then taking the angry woman's spot behind him and holding the rifle to Richie's back. "He _gave_ it to me. Now why don't you let her go," his gaze falls to a terrified Kate. "She's not a part of this at all."

"We're _all_ a part of this," Carlos counters.

"If you stop the pump," Richie tries again. "-we can negotiate like men."

"We not _men_ , dick. And if by negotiate you mean shoot me and take everything I work for..? I'm okay. Thanks. Now, what did he offer you?"

Carlos squeezes a struggling Kate tighter and it's Scott's turn to step in. "Look, let her go, okay?"

"Not now, Scott. He wants the well for himself and he betrayed everyone for it."

"If this thing finishes pumping," Kate murmurs. "-Malvado gets everything he wants." Richie glares at Kate but she keeps talking. "This blood doesn't belong to you or him or anybody. It belongs to culebras like Scott."

Richie gulps and follows her lead. "She's right about that. Nobody's gonna get anything unless you stop that pump right now."

The hose that's been pumping the blood jerks and rattles, and gives Kate enough of a distraction to elbow Carlos. When his hold loosens on her, she makes a run for it.

"Kate, don't!" Richie screams but it's too late.

Carlos has fired two rounds into Kate's back. The first bullet sends Kate to her knees and the second has a yelp escaping passed her lips. Richie tries to run to her but the rifle at his back keeps him in place and Scott can only stare sadly at his sister's mistake.

Kate emits tiny gasps of shock as her own blood bubbles up in her throat, but unbeknownst to the culebras at her back, she's merely putting on a show. Carlos is the only one speaking behind her back and she finds out that the female culebra is named _Maia._ It's pretty insignificant information but at least she can now put a name to the face.

As her skin slowly stitches itself together, Kate swallows down her own blood and lets her head hang forward as if staring at her wounds. But instead of weeping, she starts to laugh.

"What the- _Kate?_ " Scott frowns.

The elder Fuller picks her head back up to stare straight ahead and slowly climbs back to her feet. And when she turns around, half her face is glistening in scales and yellow slitted eyes narrow at the clearly stunned Carlos.

"Wh-" Richie's eyes widen. "How? It's impossible. I saw your memories."

Kate hisses at Carlos before her yellow eyes dart to Richie. "Funny what Malvado can hide from one's mind, no?" Her narrowed gaze then darts back to Carlos and she hisses again. "This blood is not for you, Carlos. Stop the truck."

Maia takes aim at Richie once again and cocks her gun threateningly, and Carlos slowly grins when he sees the youngest culebra hiss in distaste. Kate clicks her tongue in warning as she shifts into a fighting stance and the biggest culebra of the group- the bald, bearded man- steps in Kate's direction. But not wanting his sister hurt anymore than she's already been, Scott unsheathes a machete from his back and in one swift swing, the culebra's head is cut clean from his body.

With Maia keeping Richie in check, Carlos transforms with a rage filled hiss. His metallic fangs glisten in the low light surrounding them, and Scott and Kate waste not another second before launching themselves simultaneously at Carlos. With the long obsidian key in hand, Carlos deflects the swings of Scott's machetes while also managing to punch and kick at the Fuller siblings.

Having seen enough, Maia's finger squeezes the trigger of her gun but Richie ducks to the side just in time for a bullet to whiz by his head. And given the height differences, he's quite shocked that Maia has him on the ground within seconds, his chest firmly planted on the ground with a boot on the back of his neck. Huffing and glancing up, he hisses angrily when Carlos strikes Kate across the face and manages to catch both Fuller siblings by the throat only to lift them in the air with the feet dangling and struggling to reach the ground once more.

"You should have obeyed like a good little _perro,_ Scott." Carlos squeezes Scott's throat tighter in hand and then glances at Kate. "And you," he sneers. "-you should have stayed with Gonzalez. Although, he's buried alive six feet under so I guess it's a good thing you didn't."

"You- you _asshole_ ," Kate rasps.

"So light, so pure," Carlos then purrs. "And now all that innocence is lost," he tuts.

"Fuck you," both Scott and Richie snarl.

Carlos takes glee in squeezing the life out of the Fullers, but a loud gun shot rings out suddenly and Carlos jerks forward. Shocked, he glances down just as Scott and Kate do the same, and the three notice the tip of a wooden stake protruding from his chest. Then slowly but surely, Carlos starts burning from the inside out.

As Kate and Scott are let go to finally drop to their feet, Maia screams in rage. She presses down harder on Richie's neck and takes aim on the back of Richie's head once more, but before she can pull the trigger, a ferocious hiss startles her momentarily and Maia finds herself being tackled by Kate.

The two female culebras struggle and punch at one another, and Kate ends up gaining the upper hand. She's quick to straddle Maia's waist while keeping a grip on Maia's throat to keep her pinned, but a sharp whistle catches Kate's attention. Head jerking towards the sound and hair whipping from her face, Kate hisses once more at the sight of Santanico and Seth standing by her brother- Seth who's holding a rather large looking shotgun while simultaneously looking stunned. With her attention on them three, Maia forms a fist and manages a strong hit to Kate's right cheek.

Using her thighs to squeeze Maia's sides and keep her seat, Kate's rage-fueled attention is back on the culebra below her. Snarling, she releases Maia's throat only to grapple for her wrists and pins them on either side of Maia's head.

"Kate," Scott calls out. Slowly giving her brother her attention, Kate watches as he waggles a machete in hand. "It's your kill."

Understanding then dawning on Maia, the dark haired culebra intensifies her struggling up until the crunching of gravel has her darting a look to the side only to find Richie Gecko smirking down at her. Then placing a polished shoe on the culebra's throat, Richie nods at Kate as light glints off his glasses. "Your kill, Kate."

She hisses lowly but looks back at her brother and catches the tossed blade by the handle. She twirls the machete until the blade is facing downward and then brings it over Maia's chest cavity before plunging it downward. She's quick to stand when Maia starts burning up and it's only when there's no longer a threat around that she finally comes back to her senses.

The machete drops from Kate's hand and as she blinks, her too sharp vision goes fuzzy around the edges. She stumbles away from her Richie with a small gasp and as she glances down at her hands, she watches the snake-like scales retreat from the back of her hands.

"Atta girl, Katie," Richie muses.

Her eyes fill with tears and her bottom lip trembles but she still manages a glare. "Don't," she grits out through clenched teeth. "Don't be proud."

"Well someone should. It looks like you took my advice after all. _You_ bit first."

Kate glances down at the charred remains of the culebras and shame washes over her- not for the culebras she's helped slay, but for the people who are now going to be in danger because of her. She's gonna have to feed somehow and even though there's a truck of blood not twenty feet from her, blood will run out and she'll have to feed from the source. And that- that's something she's never wanted to do.

"Kate." Startled, Kate glances up and she meets Seth gaze. He's staring at her with sadness practically oozing out of him and she can't take seeing him looking at her that way. "What happened to you?"

"Malvado," she breathes sadly. "He- he did-"

"Did he touch you?" And that's not Seth but Santanico asking and she looks _livid._

Kate's speechless and when understanding dawns on her- what Santanico means by _touch-_ she's quick to shake her head. "No. I was only meant to be a distraction. It's you he wants."

"Wanted," Seth then clarifies. "Malvado's dead."

"Is he?" Richie drawls. "Good."

Seth's attention is back on his own brother and soon enough, Seth's dragged not only Santanico into an argument but Richie as well. So during their brief moment of privacy, Scott gathers his sister up in his arms and holds her close while muttering apology after apology into her ear.

 **xXx**

"Kate," Seth calls out. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

She's spent the entirety of the yelling match zoned out while tucked into her brother's side, Scott only shaking her from her mental musings to drink a cup of blood when she kept dozing off on his shoulder. 'Cause really, a culebra who nods off during the night when they're meant to flourish can only mean something is really wrong.

"Kate."

"Hmm?" She blinks her gaze clear and stares at Seth before nodding. "Yeah. Sure." She untangles herself from her brother and chances a brief glance at Richie's who's still yelling and being yelled at with Santanico. "What's going on?" She finally asks Seth.

"I just- I'm sorry," he quickly blurts. Rubbing the back of his neck, Seth avoids eye contact with Kate as she shifts uncomfortably and hugs herself. She knows Seth's thoughts about culebras so she's a bit weirded out by he seeking her out. "If I hadn't left you- if I had made sure you were okay- you wouldn't be-"

"Stop," Kate sighs, cutting him off. "-and stop worrying about it." She pauses to gulp real quick and manages to catch Seth's gaze. "Who we were and who we all are now has been Fated since before any of us were born. You can't blame yourself for my- for my-" She struggles with the word until Seth supplies one for her.

"Condition?"

"Condition," she then faintly grins. "I don't like it- I didn't want to be one of them- but it's done. I have my brother back- who doesn't actually hate me, by the way, like he led me to believe- and I guess we'll just have to take this one day at a time."

"Yeah."

Seth tapers off then, he kicking aimlessly at the gravel beneath his feet before glancing over his shoulder at Santanico and Richie who appear to be losing steam. Kate watches him then, watches as he sighs and just.. _stares._

"What happened to you? You're taking this awfully well. I thought you hated culebras?"

Looking like a deer caught in the headlights, Seth gulps and forces himself to relax only to shrug as nonchalantly as possible. "Partnered up with the snake queen who's not all that bad, to be honest."

"Mhm. And dare I say that you actually have a soft spot for her?" Seth snorts and tries to play it off, but Kate's grinning for the first time in a while and he can't help the nearly bashful grin that curves his lips upward. "Wow. I don't think I saw that one coming."

"Yeah, well, I don't think anyone saw that coming." Kate chuckles softly at his answer and eventually lets her arms fall at her sides only to hook her thumbs in the back pockets of her jeans. "So you and my brother then?" Seth's voice washes over her.

"What?!"

"Don't play coy, Princess. I see the way he looks at you. The way he _has been_ looking at you since he picked you up by the pool."

Kate blushes and then glares when Seth starts to chuckle but with Santanico and Richie finally ceasing their argument and making their way to them, she can't retort. And after talking to Seth, it's not that much of a surprise to her when Santanico moves to Seth's side but it is a surprise when Richie gravitates to hers. Seth eyes his brother but Richie merely stares back and when Seth flashes a smug smirk, Richie glowers and shifts even closer to Kate as Scott snickers off to the side.

Life just got a hell of a lot more interesting.

* * *

 **End.**

 **Perro -** _dog_

 **So yeah, that's that. After writing this, I've come to think that they all eventually get along. Seth gets over his distaste of culebras and the Fuller siblings don't hate Santanico for ruining their little family. So in light of getting along, they all agree that they won't be able to live decent lives as long as the rest of the Lords are living so they decide to take them out one by one. And also, I've come to realize that I'd like Kate's culebra power to be that she can walk in the sun.**

 **Everyone's always talking about her light and blah, blah, blah so why not make it so she can actually continue to walk in the light. ~le shrug~ Can you imagine how many pissed off culebras there'd be if another culebra actually had that power?**


End file.
